University of North Carolina Athletics
Sacred Heart Game Guide
November 14, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2006
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
The Heels will open the 2006-07 season against Sacred Heart in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Charlotte Tuesday. Sacred Heart opened their season against Fordham Nov. 10, falling 80-78. Sacred Heart returns four of five starters from last season. The Pioneers play in the Northeast Conference, but a notable non-conference foe from last season was Boston College, who somewhat narrowly beat them, 77-66.
Game Time: North Carolina vs. Sacred Heart, NIT Season Tip-Off, Charlotte, 7:00 PM
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 6 p.m. Don't forget you can submit a Mailbag question for the Mailbag pregame segment.
Storylines
Position battles: On Monday, Roy Williams said Tyler Hansbrough, Reyshawn Terry and Brandan Wright have separated themselves from the pack in terms of landing starting roles. That leaves the point guard and the two-guard position, both of which have three players fighting it out for a starting spot.
Bobby Frasor, Quentin Thomas and Ty Lawson have been battling for the starting point guard role. Frasor started all 31 games at the point last year; the only other freshman point guards to do that are Phil Ford and Raymond Felton. He finished fourth in the ACC in assists with 4.4 a game and averaged just one turnover every 11.4 minutes. His poise and effective leadership were a big reason the Heels shocked the world with their surprising success last year. Though Frasor was known for having a good jump shot before coming in, he struggled last year, shooting only 37.4% and 31% from the three-point line.
Thomas is the wild card. He has had an incredibly up-and-down tenure at Carolina, but he cut down on his turnovers in the latter part of the season and helmed the Carolina offense very effectively. In his last 14 games, he had 44 assists to just 14 turnovers. He was also one of the heroes in the win at Duke with five points, four assists and no turnovers in just 15 minutes.
Lawson is too talented not to see significant playing time. But as he gets acclimated to the Carolina way, Frasor and Thomas, comparatively experienced in the college game, could see more time in the beginning. Roy Williams has complete faith in his point guards, and trusts them to act as a coach on the floor. It doesn't just take talent to earn that role.
Marcus Ginyard, Wes Miller and Wayne Ellington are competing for the starting two-guard spot. Miller replaced Ginyard as the two-guard starter in January last season, but Ginyard continued to see significant playing time. Miller has the spot-on three-pointer and the scrappy defense; Ginyard's the standout defender on the team who's slowly developed an offensive game; Ellington's the quick freshman with the smooth jump shot. Besides Wright, Ellington has been said to have picked up certain aspects of the Carolina system such as the secondary break quicker than most of the freshmen.
"There have really been some big swings from who I think played great one day and who I didn't think played as well," Williams said. "The good news is I think they're all going to be able to help us, so that's a comfortable feeling in case somebody gets the flu or sprains an ankle or has a hangnail at a bad time, you've got somebody else that you have confidence in.
"(I'll) probably see who smiles at me the best in pregame and make the decision then."
Defense: After amassing a 125-73 lead with 3:59 to go in Saturday's final exhibition, the Heels allowed Pfeiffer to go on a 28-15 run, ending the game with a 140-101 victory. After the game, Roy Williams wasn't mincing words. "We're going to find out who in the dickens is going to guard someone the next two days," the head coach said after the game when asked about the rotation taking shape. "Talk to me then, because we're not going to play like that, and if we do, I'm serious, if we only guard people like that (then) we'll play 30-point games." Though Coach Williams did not take the rims off in the gym, as was originally feared, practice did involve a return to fundamentals. The Heels focused on guarding the ball and getting through screens, two things they failed to do well against Pfeiffer.
"We really emphasized starting with the individual - having pride, and just having that competitive nature not to let their man get by them, and then if they do, having the pride to help with a teammate. But it all starts with the individual and the effort that that first individual is going to make," Ginyard said.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in Charlotte will be FM 87.9.
Stadium information: Check out the main Charlotte Bobcats Arena page. Helpful maps and parking information can be found here.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPNU coverage: The game will be available on ESPNU.
Names To Know
Ty Lawson: There's no telling how much the talented freshman point guard will play early on. There were at least a few "Wow!" moments on Saturday in the Pfeiffer game as he sliced through defenders. But talent doesn't translate into playing time, especially as a Roy Williams point guard. A lot will depend on his grasp of the offense, his stamina, and, of course, how well he plays defense.
"Ty, as far as staying in front of the ball, is as good on the ball when he wants to be as anybody I've ever seen or played against," Wes Miller said of the freshman.
Lawson had nine points, five assists, two steals and just two turnovers in his exhibition debut against St. Augustine's. He had 15 points, three assists, one steal and four turnovers in what was a very sloppy game for the Heels.
Brandan Wright: Roy Williams has marveled at how quickly Wright has picked up the system in comparison to the other freshmen. But Wright's incredible athleticism, on display against St. Augustine's with a one-handed corral of a high Ginyard alley-oop, doesn't hurt either. He is so long and quick that he is able to disrupt shots very effectively on defense, and at close range he is very effective on offense. Wright will join an elite group of Tar Heels that stared their first games as a freshman. His debut in the Smith Center, though unofficial, was very impressive as he led the Heels in scoring with 19 points in 18 minutes on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Against Pfeiffer, he had a very well-rounded game with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals.
Jarrid Frye: The senior Sacred Heart co-captain is one of many upperclassmen and one of the four returning starters for the Pioneers. He averaged 16.1 points a game last season and ranked second on the team in both rebounds (6.5) and assists (2.6). In the season-opening loss to Fordham on Nov. 10, Frye and co-captain Ryan Howard led the team with 14 points each.
Quotables
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
